Never Enough Review

TITLE Never Enough
AUTHOR Denise Jaden
PUBLICATION July 10, 2012 by Simon Pulse
READ July 7 - 9, 2012

From the author of Losing Faith, a novel about two sisters and the eating disorder that threatens to destroy their family.

Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special… even if that means betraying her sister.

But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship —and her sister—before it’s too late?

We can tell from the blurb for Never Enough that it deals with eating disorders, but what we can't tell it all the other heavy issues it presents. I was fully prepared to read a touching story about a girl whose sister is struggling with an eating disorder, but I wasn't prepared for the flood of emotions it would bring out in me on a wide array of issues. There is so much within these pages and I loved every second of it. It deals with family issues, eating disorders, child abuse and virtue. There was not a part of this book that didn't draw some emotion out of me. About halfway through I had to put the book down and get ready to head out with my family and the whole time I was getting ready all I could think was "How can I be getting ready to go to a party with what just happened to Loann?" This is a powerful novel that is very well written.

What really stuck out for me in this novel are the relationships, and all of the deep layers that they consisted of. Loann and her sister always had an understanding, they looked out for each other and were very open with one another. Once that started to deteriorate on Claire's end, Loann was confused and lost. As someone who has dealt with eating disorders in her family I know how helpless it can make you feel and I think that all of the emotions and actions throughout the novel were conveyed so very well. Loann's feeling of desperation, Claire's seclusion, even their parents reluctance to accept the issue at hand and their inevitable depression over possibly failing their children in some way. Everything is handled so well and just felt completely real.

Another very real issue comes from Loann's new found friend, Marcus. Their relationship was one that had me puzzled for about half the novel, but once more is revealed and we find out why Marcus is so distant it really flourished for me. Their relationship really was a beautiful progression that was achieved by their understanding that each of them had their own issues to deal with. Marcus was what every girl would want in a best friend or possible boyfriend, he was a great listener and he knew how to read the undertones of Loann's statements and dig deep enough to find out what she really wanted. I liked him so much in the end and was totally rooting for the two of them.

Never Enough is a beautiful novel and one that I will think about for a while. Denise Jaden doesn't shy away from raw emotion, she embraces it and that makes for a very memorable novel.